Inhaler with closure



March 25, 1952 "k F. E. BROWN INHALR WITH cLosURE Filed March 29, 1949 Patented Mar. 25, 1952 UNITED Y* STATES QFFICE INHALER WITH CLOSURE Frank E. Brown, Burbank, Calif., assignor to Frederick M. Turnbull, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application March 29, 1949, Serial No. 84,243

(Cl. 12S- 206) 13 Claims. l

.My invention relates to an inhaler for introducing powdered medicaments of various types into the oral and respiratory regions of the body and a general object of the `invention is to provide an improved device of this character.

Reference is hereby made to my co-pending applications Serial No. 41,857, led July 3l, 1948, and Serial No. 55,135, led October 18, 1948. y

A considerable number of `powdered medicaments has been developed for application to the oraland respiratory regions of the body, such medicaments being `employed in the treatment of infections in such regions, in the treatment of allergies, in the treatment of bronchial asthma, in the treatment of halitosis, etc. Examples of such powdered medicaments `are the well known penicillin and sulpha compounds, vasoconstrictors, antihistamines for hay fever and other allergies, antispasmodics for 'bronchial asthma, etc.

It is an object of the invention to provide an applicator having a movable `capsule therein which contains the powdered medicament to be applied to the oral or respiratory regions of a patient, the capsule being movable under the influence of an airstream produced by inhalation and being adapted `to strike a stop within the device With su'icient force to dislodgea quantity of the medicament into the airstream, whereby the airstream carries the medicament to the area to which it is to `be applied.

Another object of the invention is to provide a capsule for use with powdered medicaments which includes an end wall having one or more discharge openings through which the medicament is discharged when the capsule strikes the stop within the device in the manner hereinbefore indicated.

Another object is to provide aycapsule of the character yset forth in the preceding paragraph wherein the dischargeopening or discharge openings are located in only one end wall of the capsule so as to substantially preclude circulation of air lthrough the capsule, whereby to prevent exhalation of the breath into the capsule in the event that the patient exhales through the device inadvertently. This construction prevents contamination of the vpowdered medicament in the capsule and also prevents admission of mois- Animportant object of the invention is to provide readily removable means for retaining the capsule in a xed position within the inhaler prior to use so as to prevent inadvertent discharge of powdered medicament from the capsule during packaging, shipment, and the like.

Another important object is to provide readily removable means for sealing the discharge opening or discharge openings in the capsule to prevent loss of medicament therefrom until such time as the inhaler is to be put into use.

Another object is to provide a closure means capable of performing the functions of both the aforementioned retaining means and the aforementioned sealing means.

Another object is to provide a closure means comprising a rod which is insertable into one end of the device and which is adapted to engage the capsule to hold it in engagement with one end of a chamber in the device and to close the discharge opening or openings in the capsule. A related object is to provide a rod which is insertable into the chamber containing the capsule through an opening in one end thereof and which is provided with projecting elements adapted to frictionally engage the periphery of such opening to secure the rod relative to the chamber, thereby holding the rod in engagement with the capsule.

An important object is to provide a rod having at its inner end a deformable peripheral skirt which is adapted to seat on the capsule adjacent the discharge opening or openings therein and to encircle the discharge opening or openings to close same. The deformability of the skirt insures positive contact with the capsule around the entire periphery of the skirt, which is an important feature.

Another object is to provide a device wherein the deformable peripheral skirt is formed by and bounds a concavity in one end of the rod.

Another object is to provide a capsule having a recess therein which encompasses the discharge opening or group of openings in the capsule and into which the deformable peripheral skirt on the rod is insertable, the skirt being adapted to seat on the base wall of the recess and being deformable outwardly into contact with the side walls of the recess, which is another important feature.

The foregoing objects and advantages of the present invention, together with various other objects and advantages which will become evident, may be attained through the utilization of the exemplary embodiment which is illustrated 3 S scribed in detail hereinafter. drawing:

Fig. l is an elevational View of an inhaler and closure means of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View taken along the broken line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional vieW duplicating the left end of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view, partially in longitudinal section, which is similar to Fig. 2 but which shows the closure means partially withdrawn from the inhaler;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view which is similar to Fig. 2 but in which the closure means has been completely withdrawn from the inhaler;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the closure means; and,

Fig. 'l is a transverse sectional view taken along the broken line l-l of Fig. 2 of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing the numeral I designates an inhaler which embodies the invention, the inhaler comprising a chamber II having an inlet end I2 and an outlet end I3. The inlet end i2 of the chamber I I is closed by a disc I4 having an axial inlet opening I therein in the particular construction illustrated. The outlet end I3 of the chamber II is provided with an axial outlet opening I6 therein and is rounded so that it may serve as either a nose piece or a mouth piece for the inhaler I3, depending upon whether medicament is to be applied to the nasal or oral regions.

Slidable within the chamber II is a capsule which contains a powdered medicament 2| and which is provided with a foraminous end wall 22 extending transversely of the axis of the chamber, the end wall 22 having discharge openings 23 Referring to the therein for the powdered medicament. In the particular construction illustrated, the capsule 20 comprises a tube 24 which is closed at its ends by discs, one of these discs being foraminous and forming the foraminous end wall 22 and the other of these discs being imperforate and being identified by the numeral 25. It will be noted that the foraminous disc 22 is disposed intermediate the ends of the tube 24 to provide outwardly of the disc 22 a recess 26, the purpose of which will be discussed hereinafter.

The inhaler I0 includes air passage means past the capsule 28 for providing communication between the inlet and outlet openings I5 and I6. In the particular construction illustrated, the air passage means comprises a plurality of longitudinal grooves 2 in the external surface of the tube 24 of the capsule 26.

Located within the chamber Il adjacent the outlet end I3 thereof is an annular shoulder 30 which serves as a stop for the capsule 20, the latter being adapted to strike the shoulder 3B upon axial movement of the capsule in the chamber II from the inlet end I2 thereof toward the outlet end I3 thereof. A quantity of the powdered medicament 2I is discharged from the capsule through the discharge openings 23 when the capsule strikes the shoulder or stop 30.

Considering the operation of the inhaler I0, the patient inserts the outlet end I3 thereof into his mouth, or into one nostril, depending upon whether the oral or nasal regions are to be treated. Inhalation through the device, with the parts in the positionsshown in Fig. 5 of the drawing, causes the capsule 26 to be propelled through the chamber I I toward the outlet end I3 thereof under the influence of the airstream fiowing through the device until the capsule strikes the shoulder or stop 38,' whereupon a quantity of the medicament 2I is discharged through the openings 23 into the airstream as a result of the impact. The purpose of the grooves 21 in the capsule is to provide an air passage past the capsule so that a stream of air may flow through the device as the patient inhales, such airstream carrying the discharged medicament into the region to be treated. The capsule 26 may be caused to return to the inlet end I2 of the chamber II under the influence of gravity by lowering the inlet end of the chamber below the outlet end I3 thereof.

It will be noted that since the capsule 20 is provided with discharge openings 23 at only one end thereof, substantially no air will ow through the capsule by way of the discharge openings in the event that the` user of the device exhales thereinto inadvertently. In other words, since there are no air passages through the capsule, ex-

halation into the device will not produce a flow of exhaled air through the capsule. This is an important feature since it prevents contamination of the powdered medicament and also prevents the powdered medicament from taking moisture from the air exhaled into the device.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the inhaler I0 includes a closure means 35 for retaining the capsule 20 in a fixed position within the chamber Il and for sealing the discharge openings 23 when the device is not in use, the closure means having the form of a rod 36 which is insertable into the chamber I I through the outlet opening I6 therein in the particular construction illustrated. The inner end of the rod 36 is provided with a concavity 3'I which forms and is bounded by a skirt 38, the inner end of the rod being insertable into the recess 26 in the capsule 20 to cause the skirt thereon to seat against the base wall of the recess, i. e., against the disc 22. When the inner end of the rod 36 is so inserted into the recess 26 it serves as a closure for the discharge openings 23, the diameter of the skirt 38 being sufficient to encompass the group of discharge openings.

An important feature of the invention is that the skirt 38 is formed of a material, such as a suitable plastic, which is deformable but somewhat resilient. Thus, when the inner end of the rod is inserted into the recess 26, the skirt 38 is deformed outwardly into engagement with the side walls of the recess, i. e., into engagement with the internal surface of the tube 24, so as to seal the discharge openings 23 in a positive manner. As a matter of convenience in manufacture, I prefer to form the skirt 38 integrally with the rod 36, in which case the entire rod is made of the desired deformable, resilient material.

As best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, the length of the rod 36 is such that it holds the capsule 20 in engagement with the disc I4 at the inlet end I2 of the chamber II when the inner end of the rod is inserted into the recess 26 to close the discharge openings 23 in the capsule in the manner hereinafter discussed. In order to secure the rod relative to the chamber II under such conditions, the rod is provided with radially projecting, wedge-shaped elements 39, which, as best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, are adapted to frictionally engage the periphery of the outlet openings I6 in the chamber II, the elements 39 being positioned adjacent the outer end of the rod. The outer end of the rod carries a manually graspable head 40 by means of which the rod may be inserted into or withdrawn from the c'hamberII:v

When the inhaler I0 is to be readied for use. it is merely necessary to grasp the head 40 on the rod 36 and withdraw the rod from the recess 26 and the chamber II. Subsequently, the inhaler may be used in the manner hereinbefore discussed. After use, the patient inserts the rod into the chamber I I and thence into the recess 26, applying suflicient axial force to the rod to cause the skirt 38 at the inner end thereof to flare outwardly against the side walls of the recess with the capsule 20 seated against the disc I4 at the inlet end I2 of the chamber. This force also seats the elements 39 in the outlet opening I6 and causes them to frictionally engage the periphery of the outlet opening so as to secure the rod with respect to the chamber.

Thus, it will be apparent that the closure means 35 simply and effectively retains the capsule 20 inv a fixed position within the chamber II and also seals the discharge openings 23 in the capsule to prevent leakage of powdered medicament therethrough.

Although I have disclosed an exemplary embodiment of my invention herein for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that I do not intend to be limited specifically thereto since` various changes, modifications and substitutions may be incorporated in the embodiment disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of: a chamber having spaced ends, a capsule movable in said chamber between said ends thereof; rod means adapted to extend into said chamber through one end thereof into engagement with said capsule for holding said capsule in engagement with the opposite end of said chamber," and means on said rod means adapted to frictionally engage said one end of said chamber for holding said rod means in engagement lwith said capsule.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said one end of said chamber is provided with an opening therethrough for said rod means and wherein the means last dei-ined in claim l comprises elements projecting from said rod means and adapted to frictionally engage the periphery of said opening.

3. A device as set forth in claim l wherein said capsule is provided with a discharge opening F therein and wherein said rod means is provided with an inner end adapted to seat on said capsule adjacent said discharge opening therein to close said discharge opening.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said inner end of said rod means is provided with a deformable skirt adapted'to seat on said capsule adjacent said discharge opening and to encompass said discharge opening so as to close it.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4 wherein said capsule is provided. with a recess encompassing said discharge opening therein, said deformable skirt on the inner end of said rod means being insertable into said recess and being adapted to engage the base and side walls thereof.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination of: a capsule having a discharge opening therein, said capsule being provided with a recess therein encompassing said discharge opening; closure means for said discharge opening having a deformable skirt which is adapted to seat on said capsule adjacent said discharge opening and to encompass said discharge opening so as to close it, said deformable skirt being insertable into said recess with its periphery engaging the base and side walls of said recess; and means for holding said deformable peripheral skirt seated on said capsule.

7. A device as set forth in claim 6 wherein said closure means comprises a rod having a concave end which provides said deformable skirt.

8. In a device of the character described, the the combination of: a capsule having a discharge opening therein and provided with a recess encompassing said discharge opening; and a rod having in one end thereof a concavity which denes a skirt, said skirt being adapted to seat in said recess and to encompass said discharge opening so as to close it.

9. A device as set forth in claim 8 wherein said rod is formed of a deformable material to insure sealing contact between said skirt and said capsule.

10. A device of the character set forth in claim 10 wherein said deformable skirt on said rod is adapted to seat on the base wall of said recess and be deformable outwardly into engagement with the side walls of said recess in response to application to said rod of an axial force which biases it toward said capsule.

11. In a device of the character described, the combination of: a chamber having spaced inlet and outlet openings communicating with the interior thereof; a capsule movable in said chamber through the space between said openings; re-

taining means insertable into said chamber through one of said openings into engagement Ywith said capsule for holding said capsule stationary in said chamber; and means for securing said retaining means relative to said chamber.

12. A device as set forth in claim 11 wherein ysaid capsule is provided with a discharge opening and wherein said retaining means carries closure v`means for closing said discharge opening.

--thereof; and readily removable means for retaining said capsule in engagement with one of said ends of said chamber.

FRANK E'. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 19,219 Smith June 19, 1934 1,086,062 Langston Feb. 3, 1914 Fields May 17, 1949 

